J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter novel reached UK bookshops in 1997.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published in the United Kingdom on 26 June 1997 by Bloomsbury. It was Rowling’s first novel and introduced the orphaned Harry Potter, who discovers that he is a wizard and begins studying at Hogwarts.
The book’s success grew through strong word of mouth, children’s awards, and international publication. The American edition followed in 1998 under the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The film adaptation arrived in 2001, four years after the British book launch.
The year is sometimes confused with 1998 because that was when the first US edition appeared. It is also distinct from the publication dates of later books: the series concluded with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007. Thus 1997 marks the British literary beginning of the main sequence.